Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Pacific loonGavia pacifica
This loon is hardly "Pacific" in summer -- its breeding range extends
across northern Canada as far east as Hudson Bay and Baffin Island.
However, the great majority of these birds head west to the Pacific
Coast to spend the winter. Its diet includes fish, crustaceans, insects.
Diet varies with place and season. Apparently eats mostly small fish
when these are available, especially in winter and on ocean. Also eats
crustaceans, mollusks, aquatic insects, and some plant material,
especially during breeding season. (Audubon)

Garneau says he's open to amendments as opposition to B.C. tanker ban bill mounts
Transport Minister Marc Garneau told the Senate committee studying the
Liberal government's B.C. oil tanker ban bill today that he is open to
amendments to Bill C-48 as long as they preserve the bill's stated
purpose: to stop virtually all crude oil shipments from ports along
B.C.'s northern coast. Faced with criticism from industry, First Nations
and provincial leaders, Garneau did not rule out accepting amendments
from committee members — including a proposal that would demand a
mandatory review of the ban every 3, 5 and 10 years and a proposed
change that would tie the bill's enactment to completing the Trans
Mountain expansion project. As written, the legislation bans the vast
majority of crude oil shipments from the region indefinitely. John Paul
Tasker reports. (CBC)

Western red cedars die off as extended dry spells continue, say experts
Some Western red cedars are struggling after repeated periods of drought
and experts say the tree could vanish for good in spots with shallow,
dry, rocky soil if current climate patterns continue. When Nick Page
started posting pictures of dead Western red cedars that had turned from
verdant green to rust red he was overwhelmed by how many people chimed
in or sent more disturbing images. Page, a biologist, says this has been
long warned and predictions seem to be coming true in many parts of the
Lower Mainland. Trees on sunny slopes with poor soil are the first to
go. Yvette Brend reports. (CBC)

Inslee signs bill to protect Blanchard Mountain core
With Gov. Jay Inslee’s signature last week, a plan to permanently
conserve recreation lands in the state forest on Blanchard Mountain is
one step closer to being realized. The plan is to transfer the trust
fund status of forests on Blanchard to forests in other areas of Skagit
County. This would ensure the local beneficiaries of those Blanchard
trust lands don’t lose timber revenue. Trust lands managed by Natural
Resources on Blanchard Mountain benefit local taxing districts,
including the Burlington-Edison School District, Skagit County Emergency
Medical Services and cemetery districts. Kimberly Cauvel reports.
(Skagit Valley Herald)

Puget Sound dam jeopardizing salmon, endangered orcas
The Green River is cut in half by two dams that keep adult salmon from
going upstream to spawn and juveniles from migrating down to the ocean.
The current state of one of the dams is threatening three endangered
species. The first dam has been blocking fish habitat for about a
century. Tacoma Headworks Diversion Dam east of Ravensdale is how the
City of Tacoma gets its water. Tacoma Water was tasked with building an
upstream trap-and-haul facility and finished construction in 2005. The
facility should allow Tacoma Water to transport adult salmon above its
dam and Howard A. Hanson Dam, which is three miles upstream. To this
day, that hasn't happened because the Howard Hanson dam is incomplete.
Simone Del Rosario reports. (KCPQ)

Plankton bloom spotted in Puget Sound between Tacoma and Edmonds
A large plankton bloom can be seen spread across Puget Sound from Tacoma
to Edmonds, the Washington Department of Ecology said. They tweeted out
photos taken from a helicopter over the non-toxic bloom. This bloom is
earlier than usual, the department said, but last week's sunny weather
provided the algae with a better environment to grow. (KING)

It was 84 degrees near the Arctic Ocean this weekend as carbon dioxide hit its highest level in human history
Over the weekend, the climate system sounded simultaneous alarms. Near
the entrance to the Arctic Ocean in northwest Russia, the temperature
surged to 84 degrees Fahrenheit (29 Celsius). Meanwhile, the
concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere eclipsed 415 parts per
million for the first time in human history. By themselves, these are
just data points. But taken together with so many indicators of an
altered atmosphere and rising temperatures, they blend into the
unmistakable portrait of human-induced climate change. Saturday’s steamy
84-degree reading was posted in Arkhangelsk, Russia, where the average
high temperature is around 54 this time of year. The city of 350,000
people sits next to the White Sea, which feeds into the Arctic Ocean’s
Barents Sea. Jason Samenow reports. (Washington Post)

Dog dies after exposure to toxin at Anderson Lake
A dog that was exposed to a toxin in the water at Anderson Lake has died
and its owner was exposed. The death Sunday was the third dog death
recorded since 2006, when two died and forced weekly testing of the lake
the following year. Clue, an Australian kelpie less than 2 years old,
was on a leash on the trail system Sunday when she made contact with the
water. Brian McLean reports.(Peninsula Daily News)

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